Overreaction: Raptors 121, Piss 119. Casey bets on VanVleet.

• We Won the Game When: Amid the confusion and plays/ defence breaking down, DeRozan drove down the middle to draw all the defenders only to find VanVleet for the corner jumper. Impressive confidence.
• Finding Mojo: Norman Powell got the start, and it looks like he got his mojo back. Tonight might be his best game this season.
• Baka: In Japanese = "stupid." Ibaka had a very stupid game tonight.  Missing a lot of wide open shots, fouling instead of defending, and getting thrown out. What a hat-trick.
• On the Decline: Hot take here, but it feels like Kyle Lowry's offensive game is really on a decline. Yes, he's still all over the place getting rebounds, steals, assists, etc. but it's hard to rely on him anymore as a scorer. I don't know and maybe he doesn't know when he'll be able to score. Far cry from the last 2 years when he was scoring at will. But hey, he came alive with 2 4pt plays when the Raptors made a run.
• Bebe #Utilized: Bebe only played a few minutes, but he did a decent job at being a scarecrow in the middle, even blocking Blake Griffin's shot. Hat-tip to the Raptors coaching staff for coming up with a strategy to lead Griffin towards the middle where Bebe's waiting for the block.
• On the Job Training: Pascal Siakam got an unexpected start in the 2nd half since Ibaka got thrown out, and he was put into a tough task trying to defend Griffin who tried to bully him as often as possible. Siakam did an admirable job without fouling a lot and even came up with good defensive stops along the way.
• Nothing Was the Same: The bench doesn't look the same without Siakam and Delon Wright. VanVleet struggled to run the offence, there are less movement and not a lot of opportunities for points off turnovers.
• Hubie Brown Says: Hubie Brown is an institution. If Hubie Brown said it's an offensive foul, it's an offensive foul. I mean, Hubie authored the rules of the game with Naismith FFS.
• Crunch Time Minutes: I thought the way Powell played well enough that he deserved the crunch time minutes, especially with how VanVleet had been playing. Benching him in favour does two things:
• It breaks Casey's philosophy of riding the hot hand; and
• It upholds Casey's philosophy of always playing VanVleet in the 4th.
• DeMarvelous DeRozan: DeMar DeRozan 2.0 was on full display tonight. His mid-range was on point, he got to the line when he needed to, he hit his threes, and more importantly, he was finding his teammates setting them up for an assist, the last one on a VanVleet game-winner.